Hole of the day

Friday

May 31, 2013 at 12:01 AMMay 31, 2013 at 9:08 AM

The Memorial is not unlike any other golf tournament in that the front nine doesn't get much love from the television networks or spectators. The closing holes and the water beauties get the attention, but all 18 get counted on the scorecard.

The Memorial is not unlike any other golf tournament in that the front nine doesn’t get much love from the television networks or spectators. The closing holes and the water beauties get the attention, but all 18 get counted on the scorecard. Among others, the two players on top of the leader board are thankful that No. 4 didn’t bite them the way it has bitten many over the years. First-round leader Charl Schwartzel and second-place Scott Piercy each recorded a birdie on the hole, which has a narrow green that slopes from right to left. Schwartzel’s birdie, from 13 feet, was the first of a four-birdie binge on the front nine (he started his round on the back) that helped him reach 8 under. Piercy had even less to do; his 9-footer for birdie was the first of five in a row for him. In all, 16 players had birdies on the hole as opposed to 30 who had bogey or worse.